Pour Out Your Heart
1. Pour out your heart into the Healing Bowl of Prayers.
Pour it out like water. Pour it out like rain.
Pour out your heart into the Healing Bowl of Prayers.
Just pour, pour out your heart.
2. Pour out your sorrow. Let us share each other’s pain.
3. Pour out your gratitude for all you have received.
Words and music by Bret Hesla.
Written on commission for Faith Mennonite Church on their 50th Anniversary
© 2011 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.
One evening, I asked my son Sam if he wanted to say the table grace before supper. To my surprise, he said, “Yes.” Then he got serious, pre-yoga like, and told us each to press our palms together in front of our chest, face solemn, posture erect, in silence. Slowly, he reached out to an empty pitcher on the table (one of us forgot to bring the water.) Holding it up like the communion cup, he said, “This is the jar of hearts.” He set it down slowly and said, “Everybody take your heart and put it in the jar.” In total silence, he pantomimed using both hands to gently pull his heart out of his chest, and carefully dumped it into the pitcher. Then one at a time, he held the pitcher in front of each of us, so we could do the same. Silence throughout. After the hearts were all collected, he again held the pitcher up, and said, “This is for all of us here at this table.” Short pause. “This is for all the people of the whole world.” Short pause. “This is for God. I love you God.” Then after a little more silence, he showed us how to pour out the heart back into your cupped hands, and how your hands could put your heart back in your chest. We each did so, as he went around and poured for each of us. We closed by following Sam in the starting position, palms together, straight posture, calm face. Silence. “Amen.”
Performance: You could sing this as a three verse hymn to bracket the time of prayers. Or, you could use verse one only, and sing it intermittently, alternating with spoken prayers. I hear an intro with piano, or piano and a melody instrument, to set the tune in people’s hearts.